This is my entry for @Contests Weekly Wattpad Contest #35
I subscribed too late and found out about this contest 2 days ago. It's short, but I hope you like it.
Once upon a time, on the quaint yet beautiful island of Arrow's Landing there lived a girl with fiery red hair and eyes of ebony. Her name was Abigail. Abigail wasn't known for much on the island. Her parents were fishermen and would often head out together on their pride and joy; The Vale's to catch fish to sell at the busy market to make ends meet. Abigail would often ask if she could tag along as she often did when she was younger. Unfortunately, her sensible parents weren't about to let their only, not to mention, slow-witted daughter skip school for a family outing. And so, she was always abandoned at the island. "Why can't I ever go?" Abigail whined as she looked at the distant figure of The Vale's on the horizon. "What's even the point of going to school? All we do is read about dead people and why we are where we are." she huffed. Abigail stared out the window whilst tired students came trickling into the classroom, some yawning while others were animately talking about their weekend adventures. "Well, for one, to get a good job." perked up the shy voice of her only friend; Wilfred. "Right. And after I do that I'll get to work from the break of dawn till the sun sets and not have enough time to actually spend time with my kids because I'll be constantly thinking about work and when I can get out of the house next until I grow old and dried up! Yippee!" Abigail sarcastically squealed and dropped her head into her crossed arms. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm planning to get pension." Wilfred calmly stated not at all fazed by his hysterical friend. After all, ''tis was the norm. "Pen-shin? What are those?" Abigail looked up with questionable eyes. Wilfred frowned. She was serious. He cleared his throat. "Well,-" "Ms. ABIGAIL SCHOKLADE!!" rang a shriek nasal voice from the hall. Without looking Abigail knew who it was. "Ms. Crunchington, how are you this lovely morning." Abigail said turning to Ms. Crunchington with a smile. Ms. Crunchington was a tall slender woman who had the modest taste of navy blue suits. With her hair in a too tight bun and a scowl on her face, Ms. Crunchington had made it her duty to straighten out every wild child in Arrowslanding. Needless to say, Abigail was on the top of her list. "What have you done to your hair?!" she interrogated as she stomped up to the red headed lass. "I took out the dye. It was ruining my hair. Do you like it?" she asked shaking her head from side to side. "Such gaudy hair is not accepted at this school. Wait until your parents hear of this!" Ms. Crunchington threateningly hissed. "If they're even home." Abigail thought. "Ms. Crunchington," Wilfred stepped in between the two, "with all due respect, there is no rule against having red hair. There is, however a rule against dying ones hair. Rule #27, If I'm not mistaken. Which is why Ms. Abigail, being the good student she is, decided to abide the rules set for her by this great school." he finished and loosened his fists and thanked the heavens he hadn't stuttered. Ms. Crunchington turned her attention to Wilfred, like a eagle she hunched over him with her protruding eyes piercing into his brown ones. "Oh, Wilfred Bristle, it is an honorable thing to stand up for a friend, however it is also important to not praise poor behavior. And I had such high hopes for you too. I advise you to choose your friends wisely." Ms. Crunchington said with a shake of her head and turned to Abigail, "Ms. Abigail, written or not, I shall not condone in this behavior. If you will not get your hair dyed today it will be detention for a month. Am I clear?"
Now, a proper answer to this would be 'Yes, ma'am' or 'crystal' if you're feeling unapologetic. However, we have to take into account that Abigail was, by no means, an proper girl.
"No, unfortunately for everyone your face is quite visible." Abigail retorted. Wilfred facepalmed himself. "That's it!" Ms. Crunchington fumed through clenched teeth with her face turning crimson with anger and shot past Wilfred to get Abigail. But Abigail was too quick. Her parents always wished her she could think as well as she could run. She easily dodged the advances on her and hopped out of the first story window. Ms. Crunchington screamed after her, but to no avail. Abigail ran and ran, past the school gate, past the trees and down the winding roads until the dirt roads changed into for brick ones, and around her was shops and houses lined the road. She had made it to town. She had often gone to town with her parents to sell fish, but since she started school those things had been brushed aside. She strolled through the street taking notice of every banner and flower on the way. The town had changed since last she'd been there. Red and white flowers were being sold at every corner. The chocolate business seemed to be blooming, so much so that people flooded the candy store. Hearts dotted the town. Heck, even the butcher's had a small heart on the sign in front of the store. It looked vibrant and a little tacky, truth be told. Abigail couldn't understand why they had to remodel things so. Why did things have to change? She wandered down the roads until she found herself at the marketplace. Which, as always, was bustling with life. She noticed many familiar faces as she walked down the road. There was the Kraken family which were mortal enemies with the Maiyers. Both grew, supposedly, 'The world's best tomatoes' and so, war broke out. There were the Oakshire's who sold all kinds of nuts and, if you were to ask anyone, were kind of nuts too. She saw Lucy and Tom's parents strolling around on there well deserved holiday and ducked for cover, in case they were righteous enough to send her back to school. She dodged through the crowd, but after a while, the noise and chaos got her tired. She trudged in the direction of home, but thought better than to waltz into the house in the middle of a school day and get a licking she might justly deserve.
So she headed to the docks. Once there she sat at the edge of the dock. The sun gave a beautiful glow on the wooden planks and made her hair light up like a bonfire. The waves crashed the supporting beams, just barely nipping Abigail's toes. She could she small fish wandering around the boats and nibbling on the moss that grew on the bottom. Suddenly, a wonderful thought came to her. A way to cool her parents anger that icebergs couldn't subdue. Clams! It was perfect! Her mom couldn't resist them and her dad couldn't stay mad when mom was happy. She had seen it time and time again, no matter if the rain had ruined his batch of salt that had nearly dried if he saw my mother's green eyes disappear as a wide smile crept across her chapped lips he would forget everything. Oh, how she wished they could be together everyday like they used to.
With her eyes set on the prize, Abigail tied her hair into a low ponytail. She took off her flannel and shoes and dove head first into the cool refreshing water. She went deeper and deeper until she hit the ocean floor. She spied some bubbles escaping from the sand she dug up the clam and returned to the surface before she ran out of breath. It was small and definitely not enough to smooth things over, so she went back in again, and again until there was a good pile on the edge of the deck. Being satisfied with her pile she wrapped them up in flannel and tied the two sleeves together. The once blue sky had turned a pinkish orange which colored the area in a beautiful light that warmed Abigail who was wet from head to toe. A cool breeze blew against Abigail's wet clothes and made her shiver. It was time to head home.
By the time Abigail made it home the sun had already gone and a handful of stars had come out to play. She stood at the front door and braced herself. She could almost feel the heat of her mother's wrath radiating from the door. A minute or two passed, then three, at four she had gathered enough courage on the basis of 'The later she was the angrier her mom would be' and entered the house. "Why are you back so late? And so wet?" the calm voice of her mother made Abigail jump. "I, Uh,... I got clams!" Abigail said offering the wet bundle to her mom. "Thank you, honey." her mom smiled as she took the clams and made her way to the kitchen. The plan was working!! "I got a call from school today," Abigail froze, "Ms. Crunchington called to inform us that you ditched school." Mrs. Schoklade voiced from the kitchen. The plan had completely failed. The only thing left for Abigail to do is explain and hope for the best. "I'm sorry, I skipped school, but it was for a good reason!" Abigail said as she followed her mom. "I heard you disrespected a teacher." Mrs. Schoklade said matter of factly. "Well, yes, but she wasn't exactly being civil with me either." Abigail replied. "Does that give you the right to insult your teacher?" Mrs. Schoklade tested. Abigail felt tears welling up in her eyes. "No, but I wasn't the only one at fault! She was- She was-." she tried to explain without crying. "I know." Mrs. Schoklade turned around to face her daughter. "Oh, honey, don't cry." Mrs. Schoklade's face softened. The tears that were threatening to drop fell as a wave of relief washed over Abigail. "Look, I'm not gonna lie. I was pissed when I got the call. Absolutely furious! But,.....Wilfred stopped by earlier today and told me the whole story." Mrs. Schoklade said cupping Abigail's face in her hands. "You shouldn't have to dye your hair. Nothing is unsightly about your hair. It's beautiful! Do you understand?" Mrs. Schoklade strongly said, her eyes aflame. Abigail felt all warm inside. "In fact," Mrs. Schoklade voice dropped and Abigail shuddered, "I think I'm going to have to have a little talk with Mrs. Crunchington." she seethed with a smile. "And that's not the only thing he told me about." Abigail thought about all the wrongdoings she had done in the past. "I heard that you might have a little something to tell your father and me..." Mrs. Schoklade's eyes grew sad and Abigail hung her head unable to meet her eyes. "If you were lonely, you could've told us. I'm sorry, we haven't been the most active parents lately. Work has been slow and we have to stay out long hours, but we will always, always make time for you! Even if we caught all the fish in the world it wouldn't matter if we can't help our own daughter when she needs us."
"Yeah,....sorry." Abigail sniffles and took her mom into a tight hug, "I know you guys are busy." After a minute of silence, they broke away from each other. "Alright," Mrs. Schoklade wiped a tear from her eye, "go get your father. We're going to have a feast tonight!"
And so, as most short stories go, they lived happily ever after...
...until one of them died.
The End
Friends, Family and Good food
